Boeing Subsidiary Spectrolab Sets New Solar Cell Efficiency World Record

Posted by Warren Sattler on 29 November 2013

Example of super-high-efficiency gallium arsenide solar cells on a satellite.

A new world record was recently set when Spectrolab, a Boeing subsidiary, produced a solar cell capable of converting 38.8 percent of solar energy into electricity, more than any other ground-based solar cell not using concentrated sunlight.

The record was verified by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. This new record beats the company’s own previous world record by 1 percent.

While the cost of such a high efficiency cell is likely in the hundreds of dollars, it does show an advancement in solar cell manufacturing technology—technology that trickles down to other companies, and on to consumers.

The JOOS Orange personal solar charger

We are excited at Solar Components because our personal solar chargers use some of the highest efficiency solar cells available on the market today. Our monocrystalline cells are capable of collecting sunlight at an efficiency approaching 20 percent, much higher than the 8-10 percent efficiencies seen on competing products that utilize inferior ‘thin-film’ solar cells.

In fact, our product is even featured as an example of a high efficiency solar product on Wikipedia. Click here to read the Wikipedia page.